A Dasey Night In
by leanaplumz
Summary: Derek and Casey are trapped in a botched magic trick. How will they escape?


A Dasey Night In

**This is the prequel to my previous story A Dasey Night Out. This will tell of how Derek and Casey got together. You obviously don't need to read A Dasey Night Out to understand this or vice versa, but if you want to by all means! =D**

**This is dedicated to SweetAngelofMusic for being my first LWD reviewer and giving me the push I needed to write this back story. I'd planned to write it over Christmas break, but time just got away from me! But now, I'm done school and I'm ready to ROCK! I mean write. **

**So here it is, A Dasey Night In.**

Edwin Venturi aspired to do and be many things. He was a top researcher and dancer. He was a loyal friend and brother. He was a budding business man, but today he was a magician. As the family gathered in the living room, Edwin sauntered down the stairs wearing a ridiculous cape and top hat. George, Nora, Marti and Casey cheered and applauded.

"Welcome to the show! Where's Derek? Ah, never mind please put your hands together for my lovely assistant, Lizzie!"

Lizzie walked down the stairs wearing a bedazzled swimsuit and a frown.

"Aww Liz! You look so pretty!" Casey exclaimed.

"You would say that… you did _glitter up _my favourite swimsuit!"

"All part of the act, sis!"

"You look beautiful, Liz. Anyway, I'd like to start off this show with a simple card trick. Can I have a volunteer from the audience?" Edwin blushed.

Just then, Derek walked in. Seeing the family gathering and his younger siblings dressed up, he stopped halfway through the door and turned around.

"I see you guys are… busy. I'll come back in an hour."

"Sit down Derek!" Casey exclaimed.

"Geez, you don't need to get your panties in a bunch!"

Derek picked Marti up and put her on his lap before settling in his favourite chair.

"Carry on, Edweirdo."

"As I was saying, I'm going to start off with a card trick. May I have a volunteer?"

Marti raised her hand and jumped off Derek's lap. "Pick me! Pick me!"

Lizzie glided over and led Marti over to the middle of the floor.

"Hello there! And what is your name?"

"You know what it is!"

"I know I do, but just for the sake of the audience, can we have it?"

Marti looked at her sceptically, "They know it too!"

"Just play along! Please?"

"Ok. The name's Kat. Kitty Kat."

Edwin grinned and knelt before Marti. "Hello Kitty. Pick a card, any card."

As the show wore on, everyone in the family had their turn at playing a part in the magic show. Everyone, but Derek. Edwin glanced at Lizzie and smiled. Lizzie nodded her agreement and they called up the two people they needed for their final act.

_**FLASHBACK**_

_Edwin and Lizzie sat at the top of the stairs watching Casey and Derek fight. From what they could gather, Derek had left Casey at school and she had had to walk home in a thunderstorm. Derek was laughing at Casey's sodden appearance and she looked like she was ready to jump him! Just not in a good way. _

"_I could get sick! I have a dance recital next weekend AND midterms are coming up! I can't afford to be sick!"_

"_Chill, Space Case. No one's getting sick. I have a towel here waiting for you."_

_Derek whipped the towel at Casey's face and started to walk up the stairs._

"_I just want to know why you couldn't have waited," Casey pouted as she dried her hair._

_Derek slowly turned around shaking his head._

"_I did wait, Case. I waited 45 minutes. I counted. I stood outside The Prince for almost an hour watching you talk and __**flirt**__ with that piece of garbage football player," Derek sneered._

_Just as Derek turned to climb the stairs, Lizzie and Edwin dashed into her room. _

"_Is it just me or did it sound like Derek was jealous?" _

"_I don't know… but did you see Casey's face after he told her he waited?"_

_Lizzie pulled out a deck of cards and handed them to Edwin._

"_We should figure out a way to get them to confront their feelings," Lizzie thought out loud._

"_WHAT? What feelings?" Edwin exclaimed._

"_They obviously have chemistry."_

"_Well, yah. But so do we and you don't see me jumping your bones."_

"_You think we have chemistry?"_

"_Of course! But we digress."_

"_Right. Back to the matter at hand. So what are we gonna do?"_

_Edwin began to shuffle the cards in his hand handling them with extreme precision. Lizzie looked at him and his hands as they deftly moved through the pack._

"_Confront feelings. If only we could lock them in the games closet," Edwin laughed. "It'd be like Seven Minutes in Heaven… only it would last an hour."_

"_That's not a bad idea!"_

"_What? How would we explain to the parents that their eldest children are locked in a closet and can't come out?"_

"_No. Not lock them in… we could handcuff them together!"_

"_You have officially lost me, Liz."_

"_We could put on a magic show and have Derek and Casey be in our final act!"_

"_Where we handcuff them together and 'lose' the key?"_

"_Exactly."_

_**END FLASHBACK**_

Edwin and Lizzie looked at each other and couldn't suppress their grin.

"Thank you for joining us this afternoon. We just have one more act before we call it a show. For this feat I need two volunteers, roughly the same height."

"Why?" Derek asked.

"And, I need a boy and a girl."

"Why?" Casey asked.

"Derek and Casey! Thank you for volunteering."

"What? But we didn't!" Derek exclaimed.

Lizzie smiled, "Where's your sense of fun?"

"I have a sense of fun! I just don't have a sense of… magic."

"Oh, suck it up Derek!" Casey exclaimed as she grabbed his arm and pulled him up. "You haven't done anything yet!"

Derek stood up facing the family grumbling while Casey just grinned and Edwin took the opportunity to handcuff the two together.

"What are you doing?" Derek exclaimed while yanking his arm in the cuffs along with Casey's.

"Derek! Stop it! You're hurting me!" Casey yelled jerking back.

"Kids, kids, behave… you'll be free soon enough."

Edwin draped a black cloth over his sibling's hands and waved his arms around.

"Abracadabara!" Edwin tapped his wand on their hands and waited with a sly smirk as Derek and Casey tried to tug their hands free.

"EDWIN!" Casey and Derek cried out together. "Un-cuff us this instant!"

"Casey… I… I can't!"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T?"

"Edwin…" Derek muttered menacingly.

"Edwin, where's the key?" Lizzie asked trying to conceal her grin.

"I… I don't know, Liz."

"Edwin!"

"I'm sorry. Just give me a few minutes… it has to be around here somewhere."

Edwin fake searched with Lizzie's help.

"Are you sure this is doing to work?" Edwin whispered to Lizzie.

"It has to." Lizzie replied.

"Any luck, guys?" Nora asked from the couch.

"No. I'm really sorry guys! I don't know what happened! I had it this afternoon. Right Liz?"

"Huh? Oh yeah. You did. When we were setting up."

"Don't worry… we'll find it."

"I've got a date tonight!" Casey whined. "How am I supposed to explain to Max that I can't go out because I'm chained to Derek!?"

"Tell the loser jock exactly that! I'm sure he'd get a kick out of it." Derek's smirk was becoming more and more devious.

"Actually, Case… he's right. Tell him that you're, uh, tied up tonight. Family keeping you home." George smirked.

"George!" Nora elbowed him.

"What? It's not like the excuse of handcuffed to her brother will fly well."

"Stepbrother!" Derek and Casey exclaimed together.

Lizzie and Edwin caught each other's eye and began to sneak away.

"Hold it you two!" Casey pointed, jerking Derek's arm up.

"OW!"

"Ooh… sorry. I forgot."

"You got us into this… you better get us out!"

"Ok… ok. You two sit down here and watch TV… Liz and I will continue to search for the key."

"I don't wanna watch TV though… I've got a paper to finish!"

"I thought you had plans tonight?" Derek smirked at her.

"Yes. Well… I was gonna work on it before I left."

"Ok. Well… you're always harping about sibling bonding time… "

"Wait… you actually want to spend an evening alone? Doing homework?"

"Shhh! Not so loud. But I know how important finishing this is to you… and if it keeps you away from Maxi Pads… all the better!"

"Der-ek! Don't call him names. I really like him. He's… sweet."

"Sweet? Guys aren't sweet. Oh! Then I guess it all works out! Max _is _suhweeet!"

"What is with you and making gay jokes about all the guys I go out with? You even made cracks about Sam! And what is it to you if I go out with Max, anyway?"

"I don't care who you go out with… as long as it's not my sworn enemy. Hockey and Football don't mix. I can't have my Casey going out with that dweeb!"

Through out the whole exchange, the family sat gazing back and forth between the two teens like in a tennis match.

"_Your _Casey?" Edwin asked.

"What?" Derek turned his gaze to Edwin.

Lizzie stepped up, "You said, and I quote, 'I can't have _my Casey_ going out with that dweeb.'"

"I did not!"

"Yeah… you kinda did, Smerek." Marti grinned up at her big brother.

"Smarti!"

"Sorry."

"Well, Derek? What did you mean by that?" Casey asked with a grin.

"I… I… I just think you can do better than Miller."

"Really? Like who?"

"That's for me to find out and you to know!"

The family burst out laughing at Derek's slip and his beet red expression.

"I… I uh, I mean that it's for you to know and me to find out! No! I mean… GAH!" Derek flung his hands to his face causing Casey to fly crashing into him and tackling the two the floor.

"Der-ek!" Casey exclaimed. "Stop jerking around!"

"I'm sorry! I'm not used to being connected to another person 24/7."

"Ok, ok… kids. Edwin, Liz, you guys go look for the key. Marti, it's time for bed… and I guess Casey and Derek will be hanging out upstairs finishing homework. Never thought I'd say that sentence." George looked around the room with a look of accomplishment that quickly turned to confusion when no one moved.

"Daddy… It's only 6:30!" Marti exclaimed.

"Sorry Marti… this is kind of throwing me for a loop. Come downstairs with Nora and me and we'll watch a movie."

Lizzie and Edwin were already sneaking upstairs under the guise of looking for the key, while Casey and Derek looked at each other trying to figure out how to make the night work.

"Ok, Der… I do have to finish my paper… but I guess I can do it on my laptop… so we can sit more comfortably on the floor?"

"You didn't actually think that I was gonna do homework, did you?"

"Well no… but you're not the one doing it… I am."

"True… but I'll be in the vicinity of it… and I'm pretty sure I'm allergic."

Casey smiled and looked him in the eyes. She never really noticed how the hazel flecks made them seem so innocent yet there was that glint that hinted at pure mischief. Derek looked down into Casey's eyes and marvelled in the clear blue of them. He'd heard that the eyes were the window to one's soul, but he'd never believed it until he looked into Casey's blue orbs saw all the naivety and hidden snark. Casey was ready for more fun than she was willing to let on.

"Okay… I guess the paper can wait. What do you wanna do to kill time?"

"I don't know. Watch a movie? Talk? "

"Talk?"

"Ok. Watch a movie."

"No! I want to go back to talking!" Casey laughed.

"What could we possibly talk about?"

"I don't know. Queens? Kingston is 5 hours away. It really will be us against the world."

"What makes you think that there will be any _us _in University?"

"Oh, c'mon Derek. You know that we'll be each others only tie to home. Plus I heard mom and George talking… I think they're going to try and save some cash and get us an apartment off campus together."

"What?"

"Well, an apartment will be a better deal in the long run. This way we don't have to worry about finding a place to stay every year and we can have our privacy… as in not a floor full of dorm girls."

"But I _want _a floor full of dorm girls!"

"Well, then you can live on rez and I'll have the apartment all to myself."

"They would never go for that!"

"Well, mom and George wouldn't have to worry about it because my dad would foot the bill. In fact Dad has a condo in Kingston. I bet he'd let me stay there."

"Like hell!"

"Watch the language! And why is that so hard for you to believe?"

"Why would Dennis have a condo in Kingston of all places?"

"His firm represents some big exec client up there and they gave him the account a few years ago. It also came with a condo since the dealings would last weeks at a time and it didn't make sense to commute or pay for a hotel."

Derek looked at Casey and could tell she really believed what she was saying. He on the other hand, knew from experience that "client" meant boyfriend, or in Dennis' case girlfriend and that condo was probably the clients… base of operations. Casey's relationship with Dennis was already strained and he didn't want to say or do anything to hurt her. Now where did that sympathy come from?

"There's no way that I'm letting you have a condo all to yourself and stick me in a cramped dorm room with a nerd for a roommate."

"So you're willing to share an apartment with me?"

"The two of us? Alone? With out the parents? It should be fun."

Casey laughed. "You know there would be rules… 1) no girls over night. And 2) No really loud music… I need peace to study."

Derek was looking at Casey intently. "Is that it?"

"Do you want more?"

"No! That's great! I'm not really feeling the multiple girls thing right now. Em has made a one girl guy out of me."

"But I thought you and Emily decided to see other people?"

"I didn't say Emily would be the one girl. In fact she has helped me see who I really want to be with."

"Oh yeah? Who?"

"Yeah. Not telling you that. The girl doesn't even know yet… I don't know how to even begin to tell her how I feel. How would you want someone to work their way up to telling you how much they liked you."

"Whoa… wasn't expecting that question."

"Well?"

"Umm… Compliments are always nice. You can tell her exactly what you like about her… C'mon D. You're Derek Venturi. Lady killer! You really want advice from me?"

"Yes I do. The girl. She's a lot like you."

"Really? What does she look like?"

Derek closed his eyes, "uhh… shoulder length light brown hair… beautiful crystal blue eyes… bright smile that can light up a room. She's beautiful, Case.

"Dang!" Casey thought. "She looks like me!"

"Wow, Derek. Tell me more?"

"What do you want to know? She's brilliant, conniving, caring. She's my perfect match. The Ying to my Yang… and all that jazz. "

"I've never heard you talk like this. She must really be something, Der."

"You've no idea how special she is."

"Aww… Derek's in love!"

"Don't say that! I can't be. I shouldn't be. There's no point. She wants nothing to do with me."

"Why would you say that?"

"She hates me, Case. Despises the very ground I walk on."

"That's impossible! Everyone loves you."

"I wish that was true. You've no idea how much I wish that was true, but she's made it perfectly clear that she wants nothing to do with me."

"Well, who is she? I've got to meet the girl that has looked over the Venturi charm."

"You know her pretty well actually."

"How well?"

"The only person who knows her better… is me."

"What? Derek… don't play me. Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Taking deep breaths, Derek knelt on the floor at Casey's feet taking her handcuffed hand in his.

"Casey, you are the most beautiful person I know. Inside and out. I love how you always smell like strawberries and how your eyes sparkle when you accomplish something. How Smarti looks up to you and how much you've managed to make me a better person, despite the challenge. You've never given up on me."

"Der-ek!" Casey whispered. "I don't know what to say!"

"Well, that's a first."

"Oh. Funny."

"I try."

"Boy… what took you so long?"

"What?"

"I don't hate you! I've never hated you. In fact, the reason I've been so… distant is because I've always thought you hated me. I mean, I totally crashed your life"

"Casey, you've only made my life more interesting. You bring challenge and excitement to this house."

"We brought chaos and clutter to your life!"

"You do realize that this is the Venturi home of old we're speaking of."

"Okay, your right. We brought beauty and grace in here."

"Well, I don't know about that, I think the Venturi's may have corrupted the McDonalds a bit."

"Oh, I know they did."

With that Casey leaned in and gave Derek the kiss he'd been waiting almost 3 years for.

**A/N: I think I rushed the ending... and this story took about 5 months longer than was planned to write... but here it is finally!**

**R&R... if you please.**


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